In the meantime, I wanted to share with you some of the inspiration behind Reintegration. I love dystopian fiction and how powerful of a genre it can be (as I explained in this post). It can be used as a social commentary or moral warning while still being an exciting, will told story. There are three key factors that affected how I wrote Reintegration:

1) I wanted to write a book with a protagonist I could relate to.

If I’m totally honest, my protagonist (Katherine) is basically what I would be like if I lived in a dystopian society.

Most dystopian heroines (and most YA heroines in general) are rebellious, impulsive, tough, and completely independent. Which means I can’t relate to most YA heroines. I’m the furthest thing from “rebellious” you could imagine. I actually want there to be rules and structure. I like organization. If I’m going to break a rule, I need to 100% understand why it’s a good idea to break that rule. I’ve never understood fictional characters who constantly feel the need to break every single rule in existence just to make a point. Some people are like that–just not me. I wanted my novel to have a main character who dealt with living in an oppressive society in a way that felt genuine to how I would.

Katherine is someone who longs for deep-meaningful relationships. She cries sometimes. She tends to over-think things. She tries too hard to be perfect. She’s loyally devoted to the people she cares about. She wants to be an adult but isn’t sure she’s ready.

She’s a protagonist I hope a lot of teen readers will be able to relate to.

2) I wanted a premise that wasn’t super dark.

A lot of dystopian novels are ridiculously dark with tons of violence and a depressing ending. Serious moments and bittersweet endings are fine. But it’s easy to get bogged down in a lengthy novel where nothing goes right for the characters, it seems like literally everybody’s dying or becoming an anti-hero, and the cruel bad guys just keep doing cruel things.

Reintegration is a fairly serious book. Bad things happen. But I wanted to maintain an element of hope through it all. I think that’s what a lot of secular dystopian novels are missing. Hope. And “rebellions are built on hope.”

(Sorry, I couldn’t resist the Rogue One quote).

3) I wanted to start a dialogue about something I find disturbing about our culture and present a Biblical response to it.

In our 21st century American society, we’ve taken the idea of tolerance way too far. It’s reached a point where instead of “tolerance” meaning treating others with respect, it means that if you say someone else’s actions are wrong, then you must hate them. Moral absolutes are frowned upon. We live in a “if I think it’s right, who are you to say otherwise?” society.

I started to wonder what a society based sorely on this idea of tolerance would look like. And thus the premise of the Federation was born. In writing Reintegration, Iexplored what the Bible says about morality, the conscience, respecting human life, and freedom.

I hope that it gets people thinking about the “tolerance” issue and how it’s affecting our country. I hope it encourages people to search for a Biblical response like I did. Our culture is drifting further and further away from the values of Christianity, and that prompted the “what if…?” that would become Reintegration

I’m back today with another blog tour! Laura at the Unicorn Quester blog asked me if I wanted to participate in the blog tour for Tammy Lash’s book White Wolf and the Ash Princess, so I’m super excited to post a review today. At the bottom of the post is also a link to a giveaway!

Summary:

(Look at that pretty cover, guys!)

Eighteen year old Izzy’s limited world begins to feel cramped after she completes her self-appointed book dare. After reading two-hundred and fifty books, a thought that had been once tucked away as tightly as the books on her library shelves becomes too irresistible to ignore…”Who am I?” Memory loss prohibits Izzy from remembering her life before age seven when she was injured in a fire. Fifteen year old Jonathan Gudwyne and his head housekeeper rescued her and took

Izzy in as their own, but who did she belong to before Jonathan took her in? Crippling panic keeps Izzy from wandering beyond the stables but Tubs, the Gudwyne’s thirteen-year old stable boy, encourages Izzy to go beyond the property’s rock wall to a world that promises possible answers. A scorched castle in the woods and its mysterious cellar reveal secrets that push Izzy beyond her discomfort to embark in a journey to the New World with her young friend. Here, she finds love and a home in the most unexpected of places.

Tammy lives in Lower Michigan with her husband and her three children. Izzy’s home in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (Munising) is where she and her family enjoy exploring. Tammy enjoys hiking, kayaking, beach wandering, “hunting” for birch bark and hopes to someday find a porcupine quill. White Wolf and the Ash Princess is her first novel. She is published in Keys for Kids and has been in children’s ministry for over twenty years.

White Wolf and the Ash Princess is a Christian historical novel with just a hint of fantasy. Thank you to the author for giving me the opportunity to read the book for review purposes. I enjoyed reading it. Historical fiction for YA readers is hard to find, so I really enjoyed that part of it.

I thought the author did a great job with conveying Izzy’s emotions. This poor girl has gone through a lot (both before the book starts and in the events during), and so I found her responses to things believable. One thing that frustrates me a lot is when teen books portray showing emotion as a weakness, and I greatly appreciated that in White Wolf and the Ash Princess Izzy has realistic emotional responses.

Oh, yes, and I loved the relationship between Izzy and Tubs. Their friendship was adorable. I love when books have good friendships!

Sometimes I found it confusing when there were conversations between three or more people (which happens a lot in the book). I had difficulty figuring out who was saying what. There were also some things toward the end (I can’t mention too much due to spoilers) that I thought were either not fully explained or were resolved too quickly.

Overall, though, an intriguing read! Hopefully there will be a sequel!

Andora is a beautiful young woman with insatiable curiosity. Raised in splendor, she is spoiled by her privileged life. When a love letter is slid under her door, her life takes a drastically unromantic turn. Nothing makes sense—her arranged marriage, the gifts her parents bestow on her wedding day, or her new husband’s temperament.

As Andora begins to unravel the mysteries around her, she ignites a chain of events that have the power to sabotage her entire village forever. Only her new-found wisdom as a desperate peasant’s wife can save her from her folly.

Abigayle has been a writer ever since her mother taught her how to hold a pencil. However, she devoted more time to reading words with her green eyes than writing them with her left hand. Inspired by a crazy dream at the age of seventeen, she set off on a journey to self-publish her first novel, Martin Hospitality. Since then, Abigayle has devoted herself to sharing what she has learned through the mediums of freelance editing, and her blog theleft-handedytpist.blogspot.com … when period drama films are not calling more loudly. None of her successes would be possible without the support of her Savior, large family, and online community.

Andora’s Folly is a historical/fantasy retelling of the myth of “Pandora’s Box”. I loved though how the author didn’t retell the myth by just switching out the names and setting, but built an original-feeling story around the idea of “Pandora’s Box”.

My favorite part of this story was the writing–the author’s ability to create atmosphere via word choice was amazing! The writing had a richness to it that I appreciated. I would pick up another story by this author simply because of how impressive the writing is. The characters are all interesting, and the ending held a twist I didn’t see coming. My one complaint is that I think parts felt a little rushed, and honestly, this could have been a full-length novel. But I did thoroughly enjoy it.

Overall, a fascinating story!

*Thank you to the author for providing me with an ARC for review as part of the blog tour. The opinions in this review are entirely my own thoughts*

Thank you again to the author for letting me participate! Now, go check out her blog to learn more–and see some of the other bloggers who are part of the tour!

]]>http://www.ashleybogner.com/blog-tourreview-andoras-folly-by-abigayle-claire/feed/5945A Quick Note on Fearhttp://www.ashleybogner.com/a-quick-note-on-fear/
http://www.ashleybogner.com/a-quick-note-on-fear/#commentsTue, 01 Aug 2017 15:43:31 +0000http://www.ashleybogner.com/?p=940This morning while I was in the middle of my daily quiet time with the Lord, I started thinking about how often I worry about things. I stress about a lot, and oftentimes they are things that don’t really need to be stressed about that much. And then I started to think about how much control I give fear in my life sometimes.

Then I thought about that sentence a little more.

…how much control I give fear in my life…

That word “give” hit me really hard.

I let fear dictate my thoughts.

I let fear distract me from the promises of Jesus Christ found in Scripture. I dwell on whatever thing it is I’m stressing about and I let it fester in my mind until I’ve created a fictitious situation too difficult for me to handle. Fear has no power on it’s own. The only power fear has is the power I give it when I let it have the reins of my thoughts.

Ephesians 4:26 talks about not giving “the devil a foothold” by dwelling on anger. I wonder if the same principle applies to fear. If all we do is focus on the source of our anxiety, then we aren’t focusing on God’s promises. We aren’t mediating on Scripture. We aren’t praying. We’re forgetting about our greatest weapons against Satan’s tactics.

We forget that we are God’s children (Galatians 4:7).

We forget that He is greater than anything in this world (1 John 4:4).

We forget that His love for us is unchanging (Romans 8:38-39).

We forget that He is the source of peace (John 14:27).

Fear is nothing more than a distraction. A very powerful distraction, but just a distraction nonetheless. The object of our fear (physical harm, financial trouble, etc) may be real, but fear itself is a battle tactic to make us turn our eyes away from Jesus. It makes us think that said object of our fear is somehow greater than our Creator, our Redeemer–the one who created the entire world and who has already defeated death.

*Thank you to the author for sending me a copy of The Coronation in exchange for an honest review.*

Okay, this was a super sweet story about the royal family of a fictitious kingdom. It takes place in present-day, but has the feel of a fairytale. At first a struggled a bit to keep track of all the siblings, but after a few chapters I enjoyed learning about them.

Addison, the oldest, is preparing for his soon-to-come coronation as king. The older sisters are all trying to figure out boy drama, self-esteem, and wanting to see the world beyond the sheltered castle. Meanwhile, a new security guard is torn between loyalty to the royal family and committing in act of treason for his criminal father….

There’s a lot of story lines but they are all balanced well and I never felt like the book was cluttered. It’s a pretty long book (over 450 pages) but is also a fairly easy read. The length is due mostly to the high number of characters as opposed to overly-wordy writing.

There are some sweet themes like trusting God, loyalty, purity, and overcoming heartbreak. Some mature topics are mentioned, but are very brief and described tastefully. Christianity is a key part of the siblings’ lives, which I appreciated. And they’re homeschooled! That’s also a plus, as it’s rare to find homeschooled characters in fiction.

I did have a couple complaints:

First of all, there was quite a bit of head-hopping that I found distracting–especially since there are so many different character perspectives. I would have rather just had one character’s perspective per scene rather than several.

Also, I thought it was a little unrealistic that all of the older siblings were having similar relationship drama situations at the exact same time. Not to mention, it’s a bit obvious who is going to end up with who, in my opinion. Not quite “insta-love”, but still very clear that the two characters liked each other right off the bat.

Other than that, I thought this was a cute story left open for a sequel. Fans of fairytales and contemporary stories should enjoy this! You can learn more about it on Goodreads.

Today is a really big day because I’m finally going to show you the cover for my soon-to-come (as in: one month from now) dystopian novel, Reintegration. I had the privilege of working with Magpie Designs, and they did a FANTASTIC job of creating a cover that is absolutely gorgeous and I think fits the feel of the book very well.

Without any further delay…here is the cover for Reintegration:

ISN’T IT PRETTY?!

Here’s the summary:

As a Regulator, seventeen-year-old Katherine Holliday’s duty is to protect the people of the Federation from a group of violent rebels who have exiled themselves to the mysterious wilderness. When one of these rebels is captured within the Federation, the government leaders propose an alternative to execution, a procedure they call Reintegration. The procedure involves erasing the rebel’s memory and attempting to make him a member of society. The rebel, a young man named Matthew, is not the violent criminal Katherine expects, and she can’t help but befriend him. A few weeks after Matthew’s Reintegration, Katherine realizes the procedure failed and she is now presented with a choice no one else can help her make. Can she warn her superiors that Reintegration failed, which could mean death for Matthew? Or will she defy everything she knows to help him escape—and risk her own execution?

Finally, I would like to give a shout-out to the following places that are also participating in the cover reveal today:

TUESDAY IS REINTEGRATION‘S COVER REVEAL! I’m so excited to share the cover with all of you (and some cool bloggers will also be helping out). Also, as of Tuesday, it will officially be one month until the release date.

Which brings me to…

The Reintegration blog tour sign up!

If anyone with a blog would like to help spread the word about Reintegration around the time of the release, just fill out the form below and I can e-mail you with more details.

I’m here with Nadine Brandes, author of the awesome Out of Time trilogy for an interview! The Out of Time series is a Christian dystopian trilogy. Most of my GoodReads friends raved about the first book, A Time to Die. I love dystopian books and knew I had to check it out! It’s one of few series that resulted in lots of fan-girling for me. So I’m really happy to be able to share the interview with you!

Here we go!

Ashley Bogner: If you had to pick your top three favorite books or series, what would be on the list?

1) the Bible (I know that seems like a cheesy answer, but I just can’t start a day without it!)

2) Harry Potter series — Because they had such a huge impact on my imagination!

3) The Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers, because they’re the best and most inspiring historical fiction I’ve ever read in my life.

What do you like to do when you aren’t writing?

READ! But that’s expected. I also enjoy cooking, traveling (I think traveling should totally be a hobby), rock climbing, reorganizing my bookshelves, and playing the piano.

Reorganizing bookshelves is definitely a hobby.

What is your favorite part of the writing process?

Frankly, I adore all of it (yes, even editing!) But I think my favorite is when I first get a new idea and the excitement of developing it totally takes over my brain for several days. Those days are magical—when anything seems possible.

I also love the editing process!

Who is your favorite character in the Out of Time series?

How can you ask me this?!?! *dies* Obviously, I have to say Parvin. Probably because she is so much like teenage Nadine—and teenage Nadine and teenage Parvin would have made good friends. But don’t tell me to pick between Jude and Solomon. I can’t. I just….no.

Is there a certain Scripture verse/passage that particularly influenced the series?

There are several! Pretty much the entire book of Ecclesiastes, but also Isaiah 42:6-7 (book 1), Jeremiah 1:6-8 (book 2), and Isaiah 60:1-2 (book 3).

What is the biggest message or takeaway you hope readers pull from your books?

Well, it’s been amazing to hear the different takeaways that each reader finishes the book with—they vary so greatly and I love seeing how God weaves different themes in that I didn’t expect, that touch different readers.

But when I wrote the books, it was with the hope that readers would walk away with a new understanding that, no matter how dark life gets, there is always hope. And that we have a purpose in our lives — to help return the world to how it was intended to be. Shalom! I also really hoped that Parvin would be relatable and feel like a friend that my readers could journey with.

(I could go on and on with this. )

One of the things I loved about the trilogy is that it does offer hope even in dark circumstances. That’s something definitely missing from a lot of dystopian novels.

Can you tell us anything about your latest project?

Actually yes! My latest project is a historical fantasy set in 17th century London. I will have many more details to share very soon via my newsletter. But you can prepare yourself for dark alleys, color magic, alchemists, midnight duels, and secret plots hatching in tunnels beneath London.

The book is a standalone and should release sometime in 2018.

Sounds super interesting! Can’t wait until we can all read it.

What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Keep writing! The writing journey can be very bipolar—encouraging one day, discouraging the next. Just keep pushing through. No matter how much you despair over a project, there will be times of rejoicing over it just around the corner.

And, if you ever can, attend a writers conference and connect with other writers! It will change your life.

Writer’s conferences are amazing!

Thank you so much for letting me interview you!

More about Nadine Brandes:

NADINE BRANDES once spent four days as a sea cook in the name of book research. She is the author of the award-winning Out of Time Series and her inner fangirl perks up at the mention of soul-talk, Quidditch, bookstagram, and Oreos. When she’s not busy writing novels about bold living, she’s adventuring through Middle Earth or taste-testing a new chai. She and her Auror husband live in a Tiny House on wheels. Current mission: paint the world in shalom.

]]>http://www.ashleybogner.com/interview-with-author-nadine-brandes/feed/7876Life Doesn’t Always Go as Planned, and That’s OKhttp://www.ashleybogner.com/life-doesnt-always-go-as-planned-and-thats-ok/
http://www.ashleybogner.com/life-doesnt-always-go-as-planned-and-thats-ok/#commentsFri, 07 Jul 2017 00:23:14 +0000http://www.ashleybogner.com/?p=873I like to have a plan.

I’m a huge fan of calendars, to-do lists, and figuring details out way in advance. I’m that one person who’s always early to events and needs to know exactly where and when things will be taking place. Needless to say, I don’t like surprises.

Interestingly, 2017 has been full of lots of surprises

And BIG changes of plans.

At this same time last year, I would have told you exactly what I had planned for my life. I knew exactly where I was going to college, how long I would be there, what I would major in, and what my post-college job would be. I knew what my publishing journey would look like. I knew exactly who I would be and what I would accomplish.

All of that changed over the course of a couple months.

I don’t know how everyone else reacts, but when my life does a complete 180, I find adjusting to the shift to be 1000000000% overwhelming. How dare something interfere with the meticulously-detailed life plan I had. It drives me crazy to have to re-figure things out. I start to feel lost without my trusty outline.

I think one of the biggest things God is teaching me this year is to let go of my expectations for myself and give everything to Him.

It’s so hard to do, when I’m holding on so tight to what’s easy and familiar. Or what seems like the best path with the limited knowledge I have. Oftentimes, I think God is saying, “Not that way. I have something better for you over here. Just trust me.”

But giving my dreams and goals to God is one of the most difficult things for me to do. I want instant gratification. I want things to go exactly how I want them to, without any hiccups. I want to feel successful by accomplishing what I planned to. At least, my idea of what successful is.

Instead God called me to other things. I’m going to attend a different college this fall and pursue a different major. My ideas for my post-college jobs has significantly shifted, too. I’m self-publishing instead of landing a contract with a major publishing house. My summer plans haven’t turned out quite as I anticipated. I’m still trying to figure everything out. The details aren’t set in stone. With some of it I have no idea what I’m doing. At all. I’m being introduced to some ridiculously-new concepts that go way over my head.

But the funny thing is, I can already see God’s hand in all of it.

I can see how He’s growing me and how He’s going to use me. My mindset is changing. I’m no longer holding on to my own plans with a clenched fist, not sure what to do when they’re yanked from my grasp by the circumstances of life. I’m slowly letting go, telling Him that He can use what I have to offer however He wants.

Loosening my grip on the thing most important to me–having a crystal-clear vision for what my future will look like–has been a growing process in and of itself.

I’m already seeing the benefits of the things to come. I’m excited for how they might turn out. Hindsight is a beautiful thing, that moment when I look back and say “Wow. God really saved me from something”. I’m already experiencing a bit of that moment. It’s not what I planned, but something tells me it’s going to be really awesome in the end.

I don’t need to cling to my own me-centered plans.

My wonderful Savior has my hand and is leading me on.

]]>http://www.ashleybogner.com/life-doesnt-always-go-as-planned-and-thats-ok/feed/8873Book Highlights of 2017 (So Far)http://www.ashleybogner.com/book-highlights-of-2017-so-far/
http://www.ashleybogner.com/book-highlights-of-2017-so-far/#commentsThu, 29 Jun 2017 15:36:45 +0000http://www.ashleybogner.com/?p=846I looked at the date today, and it’s almost July! Where does the time go? 2017 has been a busy reading year for me, so here are my favorite, least favorite, and most anticipated books of 2017:

Best Books I’ve Read This Year:

A Time to Rise by Nadine Brandes

This series was really popular with my Goodreads friends, and I love dystopian fiction, so of course I gave it a try. This final installment was epic. It’s been a long time since I read a series I became this emotionally invested in. I loved the characters and the writing so much, and I’m sad the series is over.

Unblemished by Sara Ella

Okay….confession: this was a “I wanted it because I loved the cover” book for me. And it turned out great (See? Sometimes you can judge a book by its cover). The premise is unique with a strong character voice.

A friend recommended this dystopian novel to me, and I could not put it down. Definitely one of the better secular books I’ve read as of late.

Disappointing Reads of This Year:

King’s Cage by Victoria Aveyard

I’ve been a big fan of this series, but this third book left me seriously disappointed. Between some unexpected content issues and a repetitive, boring plot, I really had to push through it. I really want to know how the series ends, but if the last book has a lot of the same content, then I may not read it.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

I decided to read this classic after reading Marissa Meyer’s prequel, Heartless. All I can say is that I’m confused and have no idea what happened. I think some of my sanity was stolen in trying to decipher all the madness and nonsensical dialogue.

Most Anticipated Books for the Rest of the Year:

Unraveling by Sara Ella

The Knowing by Shanon Cameron

Silver Rose by Shantelle Mary Hannu

And this totally isn’t book-related, but I am extremely excited about the fact that Star Wars VIII is coming out at the end of the year. I’ve been dying for this sequel to The Force Awakens.

What books have you read this year? Any new releases you’re excited about?

Any fellow Star Wars geeks who want to fangirl over the fact we have a new movie coming out soon?